More than 3,500 shops were gutted and property worth over Rs 500 crores destroyed in a devastating fire that has been blazing through Tripalpatti in Burrabazar, one of the busiest and largest trade and commercial hubs in central Kolkata, since early Saturday. Despite the fire brigade’s efforts, eight buildings in the neighbourhood including a 15-storey apartment failed to escape the raging fire, leaving hundreds of people homeless. No casualty, however, has been reported.

At least 42 fire tenders including five from Air Force and Army were pressed into action to contain the blaze that was suspected to have started from a house at around 2 am in the Jamnalal Bajaj Street. Since the locality is home to a wholesale market with congested clusters of unplanned and unauthorised constructions, it shortly turned into an inferno of flammable plastics, polythene and garments.

Fire was still blazing as the last reports came in. “The fire has not been completely brought under control though our men have succeeded in containing it at the source," West Bengal Fire Minister Pratim Chatterjee told the DHNS here on the spot, conceding that the fire brigade has been struggling to douse the flames even after 16 hours.

“They are yet to reach beyond the 10th floor of the 15-storey Nandarani Market which is on fire. I don’t know long it would finally take to bring the blaze under proper control,” he said. A thick cloud of toxic smoke filled the area as darkness has descended, with the power turned off as a precautionary measure.

Lax infrastructure

If the scarcity of water in the vicinity has been dogging the fire fighters, absence of a fire tender equipped with modern ladders and other facilities severely affected the operation. Since the area does not have any waterbody or reservoir, water is being pumped in from Mallikghat on the bank of the Hoogly.

Angry residents bitterly complained about the late arrival of fire brigade men. But the minister denied the charge, saying that some fire tenders reached the spot at two o'clock but could not immediately begin the operation owing to a power cut and shortage of water.

“Our men could finally begin work around 3 am. If we could have started work shortly after 2 am, much of the blaze could have been contained by now," he said.

The presence of inflammable materials like plastics and clothing has made it “a daunting task” for the firemen, he added.

”I have no idea as to how many shops are there in the Nandalal market. Only the owner of the building knows.

We will talk to him later," he said. A high-level committee will soon be set up to ascertain the actual cause of the fire.